Never Let Me Go
by Leanne90
Summary: AU/AH - Do you really know how much someone means to you? What if that was put to the test? It's New Years Eve and Elena is involved in car accident. Damon must pull himself together to be there for her. Written for A2A exchange.


Written for the A2A exchange. I hope you like it!

Prompt by _Rosesforever94_: I want something dark, heavy emotions, preferably rated M. Be creative and surprise me! Your mission: Make me cry. I'll let you free to decide what, when and where it'll happen (preferably around New Year/New Year's Eve) I just want to feel intense emotion while reading your one shot.

"Hello?! This is Mystic Falls General Hospital, may I talk to a...Mr Salvatore." The soft voice on the other end of the line spoke with urgency.

"Speaking." Damon responded, his voice cracking slightly as his mind did laps of worry.

"Mr Salvatore, we have a Miss Gilbert here, I'm sorry to tell you she has been in a serious accident and we think it best that you get here as soon as possible."

"What happened?" His voice became breathy and ragged as his tone took on a pressing nature. "Is she ok?!"

"It would be best if you could make your way here Mr Salvatore and then we can have one of the doctors talk to you. She is surgery at the moment but she should be out by the time you get here and then we will know more." The receptionist did her best to remain calm under the increasing pressure.

"No, you tell me now! Is she ok?" He demanded aggressively as his mind began to torture him with endless possibilities, all of which ended fatally.

"As I said Mr Salvatore, she is in surgery at the moment and we will know more afterwards. We would advise you to get here as soon as possible." She repeated herself and the words rang in Damon's ear.

He had always feared losing her. It had taken him what felt like years to win her heart, losing his brother in the process, and he woke up everyday dreading that this would be the day he would lose her, this would be the day when she would wake up and realise she was too good for him and would leave him, alone, again. But, not like this, not when he had no say in the matter. He blinked away the tears building in his eyes and jumped into his camero, speeding back to Mystic Falls and breaking several speeding laws in the process. But he didn't care, all that mattered was Elena and he needed to know what had happened. If anyone had hurt her...he would kill them.

Damon bounded through the hospital doors and was quickly directed to the accident and trauma unit. His blood was boiling inside of him, his mind having worked him up on the journey here, cruelly filling him with horrific scenarios that played out over and over again. His eyes were bloodshot and glazed with tears, his hair dishevelled and small beads of sweat formed on his brow as he took two stairs at a time before bursting onto the ward and smacking his hands down on the reception desk.

"Elena Gilbert, where is she?" He swept away a stray tear with the cuff of his jacket. He knew it was bad, he could decipher that much from the lack of information the receptionist was willing to give on the phone. They never broke bad news on the phone, always in person but just how bad it was, he didn't know.

"If you would like to come with me, Mr Salvatore." The receptionist spoke with trepidation and her face instantly lost its colour.

"I don't need you to take me anywhere. I just need you to tell me where she is and if she is ok." He became increasingly irritated.

"Just this way Mr Salvatore, one of the doctors is going to talk to you." She came out from behind the desk and gestured to a side room.

Damon begrudgingly followed behind her into the small waiting room and was greeted by a doctor who offered him a weak smile.

"Please take a seat."

"Can we stop with all the pleasantries and can someone just tell me what the hell happened and if she is ok?!" He raised his voice and spoke aggressively with his hands. He had driven two hours in gale force winds and the pissing rain and he just wanted someone to put him out of his misery and tell him something. Anything. He just needed to know.

The doctor released a heavy sigh before going into detail about what had happened.

****6 hours earlier****

Elena stared at herself in the mirror, scrunching her hair into a messy ponytail before narrowing her brow and releasing it again, her curls falling in tangles around her face. It was New Years Eve and Damon had booked them a romantic break away in her favourite little hideaway. He had taken her there when they first got together and it was the place she had first given herself to him, it was special to them in every way imaginable and she wanted to look just that...special. She huffed and tugged at the bottom of her dress, smoothing the material further down her long legs before ironing out the creases with her hands. Elena was never one to care about her appearance and she knew Damon loved her no matter how she looked, but just for once, she wished her hair would play ball and not immediately flatten into the poker straight style she wore every day.

She pinned it with a couple of bead encrusted grips and quickly grabbed her overnight bag before making her way out the door. She was late and it was pouring with rain. Great! She rolled her eyes in sarcasm. Elena held her bag above her head as a makeshift umbrella as she emerged from her apartment. Fog gathered around her feet and the sky was a dark midnight black, lit only by the occasional bolt of lightning. She bundled into her car and fumbled with the radio. "Come on, come on, please, please, please." She pleaded with it to work and released a small shrill when a voice crackled through the speakers. She really needed a new car!

"Wickery Bridge closed due to wind and rising water levels." The man on the radio reeled off a list of road and bridge closures.

"Fuck!" She slumped back into her seat and banged her hands on the steering wheel. She was already late and now she would have to take the back roads adding another 40 minutes to her journey. She sighed and glanced into the mirror, shaking her head at the sight of her hair. All that for nothing, a small laughed escaped her pursed lips and she quickly started the engine.

Rain hammered down on the windscreen as she drove speedily through the back streets of Mystic Falls, water gushing over onto the banks as she burst through the puddles. She couldn't see a bloody thing despite her wipers going like the clappers but she needed to hurry, she didn't want to keep Damon waiting. Elena banged her hand on the radio as she lost the sound of the man giving her road updates, her eyes veering from the road for a second or two.

Smack! Her heart skipped a beat as she hit a road closed sign and her hands tightly gripped the steering wheel as she attempted to swerve and avoid the cones that lined the road. Her breath became ragged and she could hear the beat of her heart in her ears. She swallowed thickly as rain pelted her windscreen and distorted her view. The wheels screeched as she desperately tried to regain control and her body stiffened in response and then suddenly, she lost it.

Damon swept away the tears rolling down his cheeks as his mind recreated the crash. The doctors words muffled in the background as he tried to pull himself back to reality, unable to compute what was being said to him.

"She sustained a severe head injury, we attempted to operate when she arrived to relieve the pressure building up around her brain but she was too unstable and we had to abort the procedure. She is bleeding internally, Mr Salvatore. I'm sorry, but there is nothing we can do."

"Is she in pain?" His voice cracked as he tried to form words.

"She is comfortable and somewhat alert. It is likely that she isn't aware of the severity of the situation. To her, she just has a few aches and pains. We felt it best to discuss everything with you first before explaining this to her."

"I don't want her to know." He looked down at his hands and watched as tears splashed onto them.

"She has a right to know sir." The doctor attempted to speak but was instantly cut off.

"I said I don't want her to know. If she isn't in pain and doesn't realise what's happening then I don't want her to know."

The doctor nodded and Damon glanced up for a second.

"When? I mean how long has she got?" He choked.

"Maybe an hour. Two at the most. She won't feel any pain; she will just become very tired and then..."

Damon nodded to cut the doctor off; he couldn't hear those words, not yet.

" Can I see her?!"

"Of course, right this way." The doctor gestured him out of the room.

Damon sniffed and quickly dried his eyes, forcing a smile onto his face as he followed the doctor to a room just adjacent. He stopped at the door and inhaled a deep breath, his body riddled with emotions he didn't want. He needed to be strong, needed to make her believe him when he said everything was going to be ok. He didn't want her to be scared, he couldn't do that to her.

It took every fibre of his being to enter the room. Entering was admitting that this was real and he wasn't ready but he knew he never would be. His lip trembled as he gazed at her lying in the hospital bed, wires coming out of her like she was some kind of science project. Cuts and scratches littered her small frame, her knuckles were busted open and a bruise the size of his fist covered her left eye like a fluffy purple blanket. He had never seen her so helpless, so in need of him and there was nothing he could do.

Damon slowly walked over to the side of the bed, screaming at his cruel mind to cease its relentless torture and allow him to be strong for her. He couldn't cry in front of her, couldn't show her how he felt, he just needed to be strong. That's it. Strong! The endless internal debate went on as he sat in the seat beside her and took her hand in his.

She was colder than usual. The doctors had lowered her body temperature in an attempt to relieve the pressure in her brain but had only managed to bide her extra time. But it was time Damon was thankful for.

"Hey." He offered her a smile and was pleased when she took it.

"I'm sorry." Her voice cracked and he watched her lip tremble.

"Don't be silly, it's not your fault."

"No but it is! I wasn't looking where I was going. I was late, I was speeding and I was messing with the radio because they closed the bridge."

"No. It's my fault for not buying you a new car." He tried to make her feel better by lightening the mood.

Elena laughed softly and a couple of stray tears broke past her thick lashes and rolled down her cut cheeks.

Damon brought her hand to his lips and planted a small kiss on top of it.

"You'll just have to make it up to me when you get out of here. Don't go thinking we are going to play doctor and patient." He smiled weakly but she believed him.

"Have you let the hotel know we can't make it?" She said concerned.

"Yes. They said we can use the reservation another time. I'll book it up when you are feeling up to it. The doctors think you'll be out of here in no time." He kissed her hand again. He hated lying to her but he couldn't tell her, he couldn't watch her fear death and wish for more time. It was selfish of him, he knew that, but he just didn't have it in him.

Elena smiled and nodded her head before sinking back into her pillow.

"I feel so tired." Her eyes flickered and a soft moan escaped her.

"I'll let you sleep in a minute." He chewed on his lip to stop the tears from building in his eyes. He wasn't ready yet. How could he ever be ready? The thought tormented him and he nearly lost himself in that very second.

He gazed at her lovingly, taking in every feature, every freckle, desperately needing to remember every detail of her. She was perfect and his image of her would never be enough, would never even begin to amount to her beauty and all that she was to him.

His fingers toyed with the wispy ends of her curls and he thought over what his life would be like without her. He would never cuddle up to her at night or wake up next to her in the morning. He would never read to her during thunderstorms or make her iced tea in the sunshine. He would never take a day off work just to spend all day in bed with her or take care of her when she was sick. He would never cook for her or leave her treasure maps to presents. He would never fight with her or make up, spend time doing things he didn't want to do just to please her or see her smile and laugh.

He would never again thread his fingers in her hair before indulging in a kiss or smell the fruitiness of her shampoo when he nestled his head in the crook of her neck. He would never feel his lips against hers or taste the sweet tanginess of her cherry lip balm. He would never feel her soft skin heat under his touch or hear the melodious moans escape her as he planted kisses over the curve of her neck. He would never hear the small gasp as he grabbed her by the small of her back and would never feel her nipples harden against his warm tongue. He would never feel her body tremble as he kissed his way down to her blossoming bud and would never smell her delicious want. He would never fit her like a glove or build her to a climax. He would never be hers and she would never be his again.

He would never marry her, have babies with her or grow old with her. Tears welled in his eyes and he squeezed her hand to keep him strong. He could feel his chest tightening with buried emotions, begging to burst out of him but he wouldn't let them. His heart thumped louder and louder and harder and harder as if it was attempting to beat for both of them and he would let it if he could. He had never loved anyone but her. She was his world and everything in it.

The loud bang of fireworks exploding outside brought him back to her and the room was lit with bright colours as the rest of Mystic Falls welcomed the New Year.

"Kiss me." Elena muttered sluggishly.

Damon's lips tugged into a small smile and he lent forward capturing her soft lips in a fiery kiss. The walls of his makeshift dam finally broke and his emotions came pouring out of him like a tidal wave. Tears rolled fluidly down his cheeks as his lips locked with her like pieces from a puzzle, his hands cupping her face as she kissed him back with equal fervour. His body tingled and every fibre ignited with love and passion as though his world had become whole again in that one short moment. It was a moment he didn't want it to end, he didn't want to let her go, he wanted to stay in this moment forever, but he knew he had to let her go.

He reluctantly broke away from her as he felt her lips soften against his and rested his forehead against her. He could feel his body beginning to tense and shake as tears erupted from his bloodshot eyes and streamed down his flushed cheeks. His heart ached and a lump became permanently lodged in his throat as he broke down, unable to form words or sounds of any sort, he was unmoving, inconsolable and shattered into a million pieces.

"I love you. He whispered against her lips and squeezed his eyes shut as he heard the beeping sound of the machine flat line. "Always."

Please don't hate me. Reviews are always appreciated.


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